Why should I use a property manager?

Many landlords have asked themselves at one time or another if they’d be better self-managing their investment property. It’s a question that’s especially relevant if a landlord’s had a negative experience with a property manager who failed to deliver the service they initially promised.

Being a landlord is different to being an owner-occupier and care needs to be taken. The most important decision to make is whether you will self-manage the property or engage the services of a property manager.

While it’s tempting to save a small percentage of the rent and self manage, the benefits of using a property manager can really end up saving you money and time in the long term. Some of the benefits of engaging a property manager include:

The vacancy cycle will most likely be shorter as the property manager will know what is working for the current market conditions.

They will screen applications for high quality tenants using their knowledge and experience.

All correspondence goes through the property manager and you are only contacted when necessary.

You’re hiring experts and it’s their job to know the rules.

Property managers have all the good contacts and can easily call in great tradies on your behalf.

They have tighter rent collection procedures and take the emotion out of collecting money.

If you do make the decision to self-manage, you must be prepared to dedicate the proper time and attention to finding a good tenant and regularly attending to inspections and maintenance issues. A legally binding lease agreement must be in place with the tenant and the landlord must also have good awareness of all relevant legislation, much of which is different in each state and is regularly updated.Not having adequate landlord insurance is a common problem – the insurance will cover damage to the property as well contents the landlord provides. It can also cover incidentals like unpaid rent, legal expenses and theft.

Failure to do take these steps significantly increases the likelihood of problems, including tenants falling behind in rent, malicious or accidental damage to the property, or disputes resulting in a legal liability for the landlord.

Are you looking for a good property manager? Contact me so I can put you in touch.